Britain defiant on IMF euro bail-out

Britain refused on Monday to give billions of pounds to help save the euro as the International Monetary Fund warned that clouds were gathering “over European skies".

European leaders have been trying to raise €200 billion ($261 billion) to save the euro from collapse. They want the money to come from a loan through the IMF, which organises bailouts for stricken countries.

Many members of the IMF, including Britain and the United States, are refusing to make extra contributions to save the currency.

Officials admitted that Britain could still give up to £10 billion ($15.5 billion) to an IMF global bail-out fund, but not to one specifically aimed at saving the euro.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer,
George Osborne
, was directly asked in a conference call with EU finance ministers to contribute to the €200 billion bailout fund for the euro but “categorically" declined.

The move risks isolating Britain further in Europe after Prime Minister
David Cameron
refused to sign a new treaty on fiscal disciplines.

The United Nations trade and development arm predicted a “fully fledged recession" or even “outright depression" next year, similar to the 1930s.

Meanwhile, in a letter to the Daily Telegraph, 20 of Britain’s leading business people warned that 3 million British jobs will be at risk if the country was not at the heart of Europe.

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They said it was “imperative" that Britain had a place on the negotiating table when major decisions about Europe were taken.

Signatories including
Richard Branson
, the Virgin tycoon, and Mike Rake, the chairman of British Telecom, argue that the future of Europe is vital to Britain’s economic interests.

Their intervention will put pressure on Mr Cameron not to bow to the Conservative right and demand the repatriation of further powers from Brussels.

The letter, which is also signed by Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising group WPP, and Paul Marshall, chairman of hedge fund Marshall Wace, urges the government to “re-engage in the decision-making process in Europe".

“It is in Britain’s interest that the euro survives and we therefore should do everything we can to ensure the necessary steps are taken to guarantee its viability," it says.

“The EU’s single market, whilst not complete, is of great importance to the UK. It accounts for over half our trade, but we must deepen and widen it, and push for reform in services, telecoms, the digital arena and energy."